why Aminalon is really a working nootropic

Why does this substance not have to penetrate the BBB and what does the intestine have to do with it?

Hi. My name is Dmitry, I am the author telegram channel about nootropics and productivity… Today I want to talk to you about gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA.

xIn the title you can see the name of the drug “Aminalon”, but if you look at its composition, you can see that it is 100% gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). That is, actually GABA.

For this reason, there is no point in mentioning aminalon specifically as it is just one specific drug brand.

Interesting fact… GABA is abundant in some foods. For example, some of the green teas are loaded with this substance and are therefore popular with biohackers.

The first thing that I would like to designate for the most inquisitive minds – no, this substance has nothing to do with the very “acid”. And in general, nootropics do not overlap with drugs in any way. The fact that some psychostimulants help “create” does not make them nootropics.

Second – if you decide to take anything mentioned in this or in my other articles, then be sure to consult your doctor. I want only the best for my readers, but there is always the possibility that a good effect for me will turn into problems for you. Be prudent and don’t make impulsive decisions!

Now let’s get back to the main course.

What is GABA and why is it so interesting

Gamma-aminobutyric acid is a thing our brains use as a brake fluid for neurons and at the same time as fuel for mitochondria.

It’s like charcoal that can be used to both filter water and keep a fire going in the stove.

Deficiency of this substance in the brain is often not observed. If it is present, then this is noticeable by deviations in behavior: impulsivity, irritability, sleep disturbances. Correction takes place with the help of complex treatment, taking GABA in its pure form will not help much, since most often the problem is not in the lack of a specific substance and in other, more complex reasons.

An interesting fact should be noted here – our brain produces GABA from glutamate. This is a substance that is its complete opposite: in the brain, it is responsible for stimulating and “accelerating” nerve cells.

Such metamorphoses make it clear that everything inside the brain is extremely confusing. Sometimes it’s hard to understand where the ends are coming from and what to pull for so that everything works as it should.

If you introduce ready-made GABA into the body (for example, in the form of that very aminalon), and not in the form of a “preliminary” raw material, then … almost nothing will happen to the nervous system. Receptors that are supposed to use GABA as a “handbrake” do not perceive the “good” received from the word in any way.

In this case, part of the substance when it is inside the brain captured directly by cells (with the help of specific membrane transporters GAT2 and BGT-1, if you want to dig deeper into this topic) and is further used by mitochondria as a very high-quality fuel.

Keeping order

The bottom line is that the substance penetrates relatively little. Most of it is stopped by the so-called blood-brain barrier (BBB). It is a wall that separates the bloodstream and brain cells. It allows you not to get inside various debris and everything that is not particularly useful for nerve cells. At least not without prior preparation.

For a reason that is not yet clear to scientists, our brain is interested in GABA, but only in a very small amount. Perhaps the fact is that the organism at this stage of evolution does not assume that this “product” can be in free blood flow and penetration through the BBB occurs within the framework of the statistical error.

Fortunately, this is not harmful, but only beneficial for the brain. Mitochondria are very happy with this “fit” and due to this, a nootropic effect is achieved. The brain starts to work significantly better. This is proved both by customer reviews of GABA (GABA) on various sites, and research…

From the link above, there has been a tremendous amount of work done on thousands of studies related to oral GABA supplementation. And even though they say that the conclusions are rather ambiguous, my bias (due to personal experience) sees in this collection quite convincing evidence that there is an effect.

Pay particular attention to what was the purpose of the study. We are especially interested in raising the general level of energy and the quality of thinking, and not getting rid of depression or bad sleep. Although there is an indirect and often positive influence.

But most of it is, of course, about nothing. Largely due to the fact that researchers focus their attention on one factor, when the most interesting can happen in a completely different place.

Digesting good mood

Recently, there has been more and more talk about the role of the intestine in the work of the brain. Many have probably heard that another well-known neurotransmitter, serotonin, is mostly produced in the intestines. Then it is used to balance internal processes, and in some amount reaches the brain.

With GABA, the story is exactly the same. Just recently, scientists began to find bacteria in the body that feed on gamma-aminobutyric acidand some of their neighbors know how to produce this neurotransmitter in decent amounts.

Based on this, it can be assumed that in fact the “magic” of GABA does not occur in the brain, but in the intestines. Most likely, GABA acts as food for certain bacteria, which subsequently produce substances that have a positive effect on the internal nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, calming him down and normalizing the work of the muscles. This is what ultimately leads to a positive effect, which is recorded by almost all who have taken this substance in its pure form.

This also gives us an answer to the reason why GABA does not work for some people. There are simply no bacteria needed.

I hope that in the coming years, science will give us an answer if this is so. So far, we live with what we have and try to understand the world by this indirect data.

And about the intestines and its influence on our life, we will talk more about it in a separate article. There are a lot of interesting points that personally made me shake up my eating habits. Fortunately, this gave very notable results.

Subscribe to cart, if interesting. There are already several posts on this topic, and there will also be an announcement of a large article when I write and post it.